As I previously noted, he's ideally qualified except for having spent only his first few months of infancy in Egypt and not (apparently, since he gives interviews, even to Arab media, in French) speaking the language. (I'll leave out the rumors that his divorced wife is an Israeli citizen since I don't think that should be a factor, but some Egyptians may disagree.)

In my earlier post I suggested restoring the Ptolemies instead, but that's probably not practical. Perhaps I should look into offering my own services as a potential retirement career? Fuad and I are roughly contemporaries, but I have probably spent more time in Egypt than he has. (He usually returns only for family funerals, which the regime okays if he keeps a low profile.) My Arabic may be better than his, if his public utterances are any indication. And while his ancestors are mostly Albanian, mine are heavily Irish, which has ancient links to Egyptian Coptic traditions and the Desert Fathers.

But then, I really don't want to be a King, so I'll stick to being an Editor. I think Fuad should probably stick to being an ex-King as well. He knows how by now.

6 comments:

Desperation leads to stupid ideas.It's like people who are going through a bad marriage, so they decide to have kids as if bringing in more responsibility will fix everything.I'm not sure what bringing back the king should fix exactly. Stability? How is introducing a new weak person with no power base will add stability.These things are a waste of time.

p.s.: I really tried to avoid talking about how insulting it is to bring back the monarchy.

As is well known, the Queen of England is related to the Prophet PBUH and so therefore is Prince Charles. He also reportedly is studying Arabic so he can read the Koran. On the other hand, he is also a Christian and next in line as Defender of the Faith.

He also has slim prospects of ascending the British throne, making him perhaps a willing candidate to be Egypt's big man.

With his Muslim and Christian credentials, he could provide a rallying point for both Muslim and Copt, and a reassuring figure to Egypt's US and Israeli masters.

Over 200 million Egyptians demonstrated against the threat of Islamisation of their country. The military's numbers were understated because they're conservative. The true total is probably twice that.

On the foreign front, Egyptians want to maintain peace with Israel --the foundation of their general prosperity.

Most importantly they are saddened and aggrieved by the US turning against them. They want a US that is always sympathetic to their needs.

One man is ideally suited to solve all these problems - Avigdor Lieberman.

He knows how to deal with the Muslim threat and has the buses to do it.

There can be no doubt that he will guarantee the peace treaty with Israel.

He will get an always attentive and sympathetic ear in Washington if regional history is any precedent.

Each of these has potential. If Charles went to Egypt the Brits could have his more popular progeny, and if Lieberman did, the Israelis would be rid of him. Less certain how either would be received in Egypt. My own candidacy does not seem to be taking off, though.

A few factoids about the boy who would [not] be king:-he regained his Egyptian citizenship via Anwar Sadat on condition he renouce any claims to the now abolished throne-his ex-wife was a Jewish convert to Islam who ensured [just in caase] that she had all his children in Egypt-According to Khalid Fahmy, the family was Macedonian, not Albanian. In this Fuad's case, only 1/4, since his paternal grandmother and both maternal grandparents were Egyptians.-He does spend more time than that in Cairo and Alexandria, has some business there, and all his own mother's [non-royal]family there.-Chances to become king: about as good as the Hashemites in Iraq and the Afghans.

"Michael Collins Dunn is the editor of The Middle East Journal. He also blogs. His latest posting summarizes a lot of material on the Iranian election and offers some sensible interpretation. If you are really interested in the Middle East, you should check him out regularly."— Gary Sick, Gary's Choices

"Since we’re not covering the Tunisian elections particularly well, and neither does Tunisian media, I’ll just point you over here. It’s a great post by MEI editor Michael Collins Dunn, who . . . clearly knows the country pretty well."— alle, Maghreb Politics Review

"I’ve followed Michael Collins Dunn over at the Middle East Institute’s blog since its beginning in January this year. Overall, it is one of the best blogs on Middle Eastern affairs. It is a selection of educated and manifestly knowledgeable ruminations of various aspects of Middle Eastern politics and international relations in the broadest sense."— davidroberts at The Gulf Blog

"Michael Collins Dunn, editor of the prestigious Middle East Journal, wrote an interesting 'Backgrounder' on the Berriane violence at his Middle East Institute Editor’s Blog. It is a strong piece, but imperfect (as all things are) . . ."— kal, The Moor Next DoorThis great video of Nasser posted on Michael Collins Dunn’s blog (which is one of my favorites incidentally) ...— Qifa Nabki